ABV, IBU, packaging dates, allergens, deposit codes — a practical guide to everything on a modern Canadian beer can, and what actually matters.
Canadian beer labels are doing more work than ever. New federal nutrition labelling rules, provincial deposit systems, allergen disclosures and craft-driven transparency about hops and yeast all compete for the same 4×3 inch panel. Here's how to read one in 2026 — and which numbers are actually worth caring about. The basics: ABV and volume Alcohol by volume is mandatory across Canada. For non-alcoholic beer, anything under 0.5% ABV can legally be sold as "non-alcoholic" (anything 0.0% must be labelled as such). Volume is in millilitres — 473 mL is the standard tallboy, 355 mL the standard slim can. IBU and SRM: take with a grain of salt International Bitterness Units (IBU) and Standard Reference Method colour (SRM) appear on a lot of craft labels. They're useful comparisons within a single brewery, but mostly meaningless across styles — a 60 IBU West Coast IPA and a 60 IBU imperial stout taste nothing alike. The packaging date is the most important number For hop-forward beer especially, freshness is everything. A hazy IPA loses noticeable character within 6 weeks of packaging. Look for "packaged on" or "canned on" dates, not "best before" — best-before dates are typically 6–12 mo